Disclosure: This article is based on information and research shared by Lingokids. The survey findings referenced below come from Lingokids’ Kids Interactive Entertainment Report. GreatfulMoments.com may receive consideration or opportunities for future collaboration from companies we write about. As always, my opinions and experiences are my own.
If you are a parent, grandparent, or caregiver, chances are you have had the screen-time conversation more times than you can count.
How much is too much?
What are they watching?
Is it educational?
Is it safe?
And perhaps the biggest question of all: Is screen time always a bad thing?
I don’t think the answer is quite that simple.
As a mom, I’ve watched technology change tremendously over the years. When my children were little, we certainly didn’t have the same phones, tablets, apps, games, and streaming choices that children have today. But one thing hasn’t changed: parents want their children to be safe, happy, and learning.
A new survey from Lingokids takes a closer look at what parents want from children’s interactive entertainment, and I found some of the results interesting.
Parents Say Safety Comes First
Lingokids surveyed 2,000 U.S. parents of children ages 2 through 8 as part of its Kids Interactive Entertainment Report.
Parents were asked to prioritize the qualities they want their children’s content to have.
The top three were:
- Safe — 87.7%
- Fun — 67.3%
- Educational or building a skill — 64.8%
Honestly, those three don’t surprise me.
When you’re handing a young child a tablet or turning on an app, you want to know they’re going somewhere you feel comfortable letting them explore. But you also don’t want learning to feel like another worksheet or assignment.
Kids want to have fun. Parents want them to learn. The best activities can do both.
Not All Screen Time Is Created Equal
I’ve always believed that there is a difference between simply sitting in front of a screen and actually doing something with it.
A child can watch something mindlessly for an hour, or they can use technology to learn a new word, practice a skill, listen to a story, sing a song, solve a problem, or explore something they’ve never seen before.
That doesn’t mean children need unlimited screen time.
Quite the opposite.
I think parents still need to set boundaries and pay attention to what their children are doing. But perhaps instead of asking only, “How much screen time is my child getting?”, we should sometimes ask, “What is my child getting from that screen time?”
How Did Parents Rank Popular Children’s Platforms?
According to the Lingokids survey, families who had tried Lingokids rated it highest among the 10 children’s platforms included in the study for safety, fun, and being beneficial.
Lingokids received:
- 4.8 out of 5 for safety
- 4.7 out of 5 for fun
- 4.7 out of 5 for being beneficial
ABCMouse received the next-highest safety score at 4.5, while PBS Kids was the second-highest for fun.
The survey also found that YouTube and Roblox received scores of no higher than 3 out of 5 in any of those three categories.
Of course, every family has different rules and every child is different. A survey like this isn’t a substitute for parents making their own decisions about what is appropriate for their children.
But I do think it highlights something worth talking about: parents are looking for better choices when it comes to children’s entertainment.
Screen Time Can Even Become a Motivation
One parent participating in the survey shared that their family uses screen time as a reward and that Lingokids had become one of the trusted choices they offered their child.
The parent even mentioned using it as motivation during potty training.
Now, every parent who has ever survived potty training knows you sometimes use whatever works!
But I especially liked the bigger point behind that comment.
Parents aren’t necessarily looking for ways to give their children more screen time.
They’re looking for screen time they can feel better about when they do choose to allow it.
Why Parents Feel Guilty About Screen Time
The report also found that inappropriate content was the top reason parents said they felt guilty about their children’s screen time.
I can understand that.
One of the hardest things about technology today is that children can start with something completely innocent and, depending on the platform, potentially stumble into content that isn’t appropriate for them.
That’s why I think parents should know what platforms their children are using and take advantage of parental controls and age-appropriate settings whenever possible.
And, when children are young, there’s nothing wrong with sitting down beside them and seeing what they’re enjoying.
Sometimes the best parenting tool isn’t another rule.
It’s being involved.
Can Screen Time Have a Positive Side?
According to Lingokids, the vast majority of parents surveyed also believe screen time can have a positive impact when it is managed intentionally.
That word caught my attention:
Intentionally.
I think that is really the heart of this entire conversation.
We’re not talking about parking a child in front of a screen all day.
We’re talking about parents making thoughtful choices about the content their children consume and looking for opportunities where entertainment can also encourage curiosity, creativity, learning, and confidence.
That’s something I can get behind.
What Is Lingokids?
Lingokids describes itself as an interactive entertainment platform for young children that combines play and learning.
According to the company, the platform is used by more than 20 million children each month and includes more than 4,000 activities, shows, and songs.
Lingokids also says it has partnered with organizations and brands including Disney, Blippi, NASA, BBC Earth, and Oxford University Press.
The company says its goal is to turn screen time into safe, high-quality play where children can have fun while learning.
And isn’t that really what parents are looking for?
My Take as a Mom
I don’t think we need to pretend that screens don’t exist.
Technology is part of our children’s world, and that isn’t going away.
Instead, I think we need to teach our children how to use technology wisely while we, as parents, make thoughtful choices about the content we put in front of them.
Just like I wouldn’t give my child an entire pantry full of candy and say, “Go for it!”, I don’t think unlimited access to every corner of the internet is a good idea either.
But an age-appropriate activity that makes a child laugh while teaching them something?
A game that helps them practice a skill?
A song that introduces them to something new?
A story that gets them excited about learning?
That’s a different kind of screen time.
And as a mom, I think that’s an important distinction.
My children are older now, but I still love seeing products and programs that recognize that children can learn while they’re having fun.
Because sometimes learning doesn’t look like sitting at a desk with a pencil in your hand.
Sometimes it looks like playing, singing, exploring, laughing, and discovering something new.
And if we’re going to have screen time in our children’s lives, I think choosing quality content is a pretty good place to start.
Learn More About Lingokids
Want to learn more about Lingokids or read the research for yourself?
Visit Lingokids to learn more about the platform.
You can also read the Kids Interactive Entertainment Report through Lingokids’ research page.
Glenda Cates
GreatfulMoments.com
Grateful, Thankful, and Blessed
